1. Filed of the Invention
This invention relates to a seal member for a waterproof connector which can secure a waterproof performance for preventing the intrusion of water into a connector housing.
2. Description of the Related Art
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a conventional waterproof connector 101 includes female terminals 104 inserted respectively in terminal receiving chambers 103 of a housing 102, and a seal member 106 which is mounted at rear ends of the terminal receiving chambers 103, and has a plurality of wire-sealing passage holes 107. A press-clamping portion 109 for the fixing of a sheath portion and a conductor portion of a wire W thereto is formed at a rear portion of the female terminal 104.
A packing holder 110 having a packing 111 is fitted to the housing 102 from a front side thereof, thereby securing a dust-proof and waterproof performance for preventing the intrusion of dust and water from the front side. Further, a side spacer 112 is inserted into the housing 102 from a side surface thereof, and stoppers 112a hold rear end surfaces of box-like electrical contact portions 105 of the female terminals 104, thereby preventing rearward withdrawal of the female terminals 104. An inner surface of each passage hole 107, as well as an outer peripheral surface of the seal member 106, is corrugated to form seal portions or lips 107a, and these seal portions 107a seal the outer peripheral surfaces of the wires W and the rear end portions of the terminal receiving chambers 103.
A rear holder 113 is attached to the rear end of the housing 102, and is disposed at the rear side of the seal member 106 to presses this seal member 106. This rear holder 113 has a plurality of terminal passage holes 114. Further, a lance cover 115 for covering a lock mechanism until the connector 101 is fitted to a mating connector is attached to an upper surface of the rear portion of the housing 102.
In the waterproof connector 101 of the above construction, first, the packing holder 110 is attached to the housing 102 from the front side thereof, and then the seal member 106 is inserted into the housing 102 to be disposed at the rear side of the terminal receiving chambers 103. Thereafter, the rear holder 113 is provisionally retained at the rear end of the housing 102 to be disposed at the rear side of the seal member 106.
Then, each female terminal 104 having the wire W fixedly secured to the press-clamping portion 109 is inserted from the rear side of the rear holder 113 (provided at the rear end of the housing 102) into the terminal receiving chamber 103 through the terminal passage hole 114 and the passage hole 107 of the seal member 106. Thereafter, the rear holder 113 disposed at the rear side of the seal member 106 is pushed toward the front side of the housing 102, and is completely retained, and as a result the seal member 106 is elastically deformed to achieve a positive sealing effect.
After the female terminals 104 are received respectively in the terminal receiving chambers 103, the side spacer 112 is inserted into the housing 102 from the side surface thereof, so that the stoppers 112a are disposed respectively at the rear end surfaces of the box-like electrical contact portions 105. As a result, the side spacer 112 retains the female terminals 104 in a double manner in cooperation with housing lances 102a (which are provided within the respective terminal receiving chambers 103) retainingly engaged respectively in lances holes 105b formed respectively in bottom plates of the box-like electrical contact portions 105, and therefore the rearward withdrawal of the female terminals 104 are positively prevented. Then, the lance cover 115 is attached to the upper side of the rear portion of the housing 102.                Patent Literature 1: JP-A-2000-208200 Publication (FIGS. 1 to 5)        
In the above conventional construction, however, when an external force, such as a pulling force in an upward-downward direction or a right-left direction, acts on the wires W led rearwardly out of the waterproof connector 101, each wire W swings within the range of the wire passage hole 114 of the rear holder 113, and therefore the seal member 106 received in a seal member-receiving portion also moves, following the movement of the wires W, so that the lips 107a are, in some cases, slightly spaced apart from an inner surface of the seal member-receiving portion to form a gap therebetween. And, there is a fear that water may intrude through this gap.
The intrusion of water through a gap between the seal member-receiving portion and the lips 07a can be prevented by increasing the force of pressing of the rear holder 113 against the seal member 106 so as to enhance the intimate contact therebetween. In this case, however, a reaction force acting on the rear holder 113 becomes large, and therefore there is a fear that the rear holder 113 may be disengaged from the housing 102.
Furthermore, in the type of waterproof connector in which an inner housing is movable or swingable within an outer housing for aligning purposes as in a floating connector, wires passing through a seal member are completely fixed when the seal member is compressed hard by a rear holder. Therefore, a spacer need to be provided between the seal member and the inner housing so that the inner housing can move, and this invites a problem that the connector becomes large in size.